


Parcels and Promises

by BastardPrince



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: College Student Adam Parrish, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Ronan Lynch Has Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 22:12:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15694368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BastardPrince/pseuds/BastardPrince
Summary: A month and a half in to Adam's first semester at college, the care packages start arriving. Students start returning from the mailroom with large boxes and even larger grins.---Ronan sends Adam a care package.





	Parcels and Promises

A month and a half into Adam's first semester at college, the care packages start arriving. Students begin returning from the mailroom with large boxes and even larger grins.

The care packages are usually pretty generic, almost all of them contain gift cards, laundry detergent, deodorant, and any homemade food that will survive a journey through the United States Postal Service, as well as any forgotten socks, phone chargers, and headphones.

Given his current situation with his parents, Adam isn't expecting any care packages from home. That's fine with him, he's always been self-sufficient anyways.

So when he gets an email from the college mailroom two weeks after the arrival of the first care package, Adam figures it's just junk mail or some generic notification.

The next day, he heads to the mailroom before returning to his dorm between classes. Adam shows the woman behind the desk his student ID and she returns with a large box. Every surface except for the address label is covered with Sharpie scribbles. One of the corners has definite tooth marks.

Adam hasn't been expecting a package, especially not one so unusual in appearance, but his name is on the address label, so he thanks the woman and takes it.

As he walks to his dorm room, Adam investigates the box. He recognizes the return address as the Barns, and his heart beats a little faster as he wonders what Ronan sent him.

Once Adam arrives at his door, he fishes his keys out of his pocket and lets himself into his dorm. His roommate isn't around. Adam is secretly glad. He doesn't know what Ronan sent him, but he doesn't want to field questions if it's something impossible that Ronan has dreamt into existence. Before sitting down on his narrow bed, Adam grabs a pair of scissors to cut through the packing tape that's holding the box flaps together.

Pulling the flaps apart, Adam smiles at the first thing he sees. _Adam_ is scrawled across the front of a white envelope in Ronan's spiky handwriting. He pulls out the letter and sets it beside him. He wants to save Ronan's message for last.

Next, Adam finds a postcard from West Virginia. The postcard is addressed to Adam - but at Ronan's address - in Gansey's neat penmanship. The picture on the front is generic, but when Adam flips it over, his heart warms. 

A photo of Blue, Gansey, and Henry is stapled to the back. Blue looks happier than ever, her eyes scrunched shut as she grins widely. Her hair is just barely being contained by a few clips. Gansey is pressed up close beside Blue, his brilliant white teeth blinding Adam through the photograph. Finally, Henry is resting his chin on the top of Blue's head, his lips puckered and eyes crossed, hair as tall and perfect as ever. 

Beneath the photo, Blue has scrawled: 

_Sorry, we didn't know your mailing address. We sent this to Ronan to send to you. Hope college is going well. I miss you._

_Love,_

_Blue + Gansey + Henry_

Beside the note is a purple lipstick print and a small ninja doodled in pen. Adam assumes that the first is from Blue and the second is from Henry. 

Though the message is brief, Adam is unreasonably happy to have received it.

Delving further into the box, Adam finds a collection of things that he can only imagine were added by Opal and Chainsaw. There's a handful of moss accompanied by a scattering of soil, a mangled leaf, a pitch-black feather that's about six inches long, a small square of tinfoil, and a shiny paperclip.

Adam laughs quietly, thinking of Ronan putting the box together and encouraging Opal and Chainsaw to contribute.

The next three things are dream items from Ronan. Adam can feel their dream-ness before he touches them. The first thing appears to be a chunk of quartz. It doesn't do anything when Adam picks it up, so he sets it aside to investigate more later.

The second dream thing is a music box. It is ornately decorated, and it seems old. When Adam opens it, there is even a ballerina on a spinning platform inside. However, unlike a typical music box, Ronan's creation plays the Murder Squash song. Adam rolls his eyes, but listens to a couple seconds of the song before firmly shutting the box.

Adam recognizes the third dream thing. It is a screw-top container, unlabelled except for one word: _Manibus_. Adam had just run out of the first batch and had been meaning to ask Ronan for more. He marvels at Roman's timing.

The final layer of the care package is now uncovered. First, there's a red tin that Adam opens to find about two dozen chocolate chip cookies inside.

He grabs one to eat, and almost groans because it's so good. Adam continues eating as he empties the care package. There are two folded shirts at the bottom. One is obviously Ronan's. It's black and worn, the collar frayed, and some of the hems ripped. The second shirt appears to be new, and it feels like a dream thing. It's forest green, and when Adam presses it to his face and inhales, he's overwhelmed by the scent of leaves and rain and outside. _Cabeswater_.

Adam inhales the scent of the forest once more before adding the green shirt to the pile beside him and reaching for Ronan's letter.

When he opens the envelope, Adam finds two pieces of paper folded inside. He pulls them both out.

One is covered in Ronan's writing, but the second is from Opal. She's just learning to write, so her letters are large and sometimes misshapen. Her note appears to be written in the same Sharpie that scribbled all over the outside of the box. As he reads the note, Adam smiles again.

_Hi Adam._

_I ate a prickly leaf. Kerah let me sit on his lap and steer the BMW._

_Desidero mihi faciem tuam._

_Bye Adam._

_From: Opal_

Adam hadn't realized how much he missed Opal, the little gremlin. He makes a mental note to self to bring her something back from campus next time he returns to the Barns. 

Finally, Adam unfolds Ronan's letter.

_Hey shithead._

_Blue told me that college students are supposed to get care packages, so I thought I should send you one. How'd I do? Is it up to your standards?_

_I let Opal and Chainsaw add some stuff, so if there's any random shit it's probably from them. Most of the other stuff is self-explanatory, but there're a couple things that I'll tell you about._

_1\. The dream shirt doesn't need to be washed, and it even folds itself, so enjoy your newfound free time, loser._

_2\. The chunk of rock isn't from Opal. I have a matching one, and if you hold one, the other one will glow. At least that's what they did in my dream. I haven't exactly had a chance to test the fuckers since you've been gone, and they don't work with anyone else._

_3\. The cookies are homemade. I found one of my mom's old recipe books and tried a couple things. I'm on my way to becoming a master chef. Next time you come home, be prepared to be amazed, asshole._

_Come home soon. The brat and the bird miss you. But I miss you the most._

_Remember that you can call me whenever. Or text. Seriously. I'll pick up if it's you, Adam._

_I love you._

_Ronan_

The end of the letter makes Adam's heart swell. He had known that Ronan would pick up if he called, but Adam hadn't wanted to abuse the privilege.

Clearing his throat, Adam piles everything except for the shirts, cookies, and dream items back in the box. He puts the shirts away, eats another cookie, and sets the dream items on his nightstand.

Before leaving for his next class, Adam looks at the dream quartz. He considers for a second, then grabs it on his way out.

He hopes that Ronan is near his rock as well.

As he locks the door behind him, Adam notices that the quartz in his hand is glowing, soft white light shining between his fingers.

Walking to class with Ronan's dream thing in his hand, Adam feels more grounded than he has for the entire semester.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Desidero mihi faciem tuam_ = I miss your face


End file.
